hello. :)

So, I got a not-so-subtle reminder that I haven't updated the blog for a while!

LOL

(Thanks, Steph!)

 

I have made a few cards over my summer vacation,

but haven't taken the time to share many. 

Sorry!

 

Here's a bright one for you today.

I am in love with neon right now!

I just got the new neon ink pads from Hero Arts, too, so you'll probably need sunglasses to read my blog before the summer's over. ;)

 

 

I cut this fun kraft and neon background using the Creative Cards cartridge from Cricut. 

Fun, huh?

The stamp is from Studio G.  I stamped it with Versamark

and embossed with black embossing powder.

 

I'm hoping that I have some time today to get inky.  Happy Tuesday! :)



Sending My Love

First off, I can't say "thank you" enough to all of my sweet friends in the blogging world who wished me a Happy Birthday yesterday.  You all are the best!  You really know how to make a girl feel special. :)

I had a bit of time yesterday afternoon to play in my scraproom (best. birthday. gift. ever.)  I decided to play along with 2 different {ippity} challenges going on right now.  The first is the BRIGHTS CHALLENGE on the {ippity} blog.  This striped paper from Sassafras Lass is super bright and funky!  The second is this week's sketch challenge at Chick Challenges {with ippity}.  Here is my card:

I absolutely loved the idea of adding an envelope to the front of your card, as the sketch shows.  I cut this little envelope using my Cricut Wild Card cartridge.  Although I adhered it shut, you could also make it a functional envie for a little note or gift card.  I moved the bow from the sketch over onto my card flap, and moved the sentiment lower on the envie.  The sentiment is from {ippity}'s How YOU Doin' stamp set, on of my favorites sets for cute little sentiments.

I am also sharing a project today over at I Heart {ippity}-hop on over and check it out!

June Kit Layouts

Our first challenge this month was to find inspiration in an ad. This was a tough one for me-until I saw this Keds ad in a magazine:
I loved the clean design of the layout and knew that it would work well with the photo that I wanted to scrap. I substituted some of my favorite papers and a journaling box for the extra photos in the ad. The background is embossed cardstock from Core'dinations. I lightly sanded it to show the texture. This photo is of my dad and some of his brothers and sisters (taken around 1937). My dad is the little blonde on the right, next to the pink flower. :)

Challenge #2 for the blog hop was to make an "I" page. I immediately though of my Pinterest boards, which I labeled like Apple products (like the iPod and iPhone.) My boards include iBake, iSew, iScrap, etc. I also lifted this design from a layout that I have "pinned" on my iScrap board. Notice the subtle background stamping on the gray background? I did that with my homemade chicken wire stamp! The metal clips were leftover from my May kit.

My last layout was for Challenge #3, "Get in Shape". The challenge was to use a shape as a design element on your page. I had included this large chipboard heart in my kit and knew that it would be perfect for this challenge. I inked it with Creamy Brown chalk ink and then stamped a small branch with heart-shaped leaves all over with brown ink. I also realized that I used all patterned paper for this layout-the only cardstock is my background, but you can't see it because it is covered with patterned paper strips! I can't remember ever making a project using only patterned paper. I really like the look-it reminds me of an old quilt. :) These photos are of me and my parents last summer.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Today is my last "free" day before a very busy holiday weekend. I hope to get lots of scrapping done!

Ocean Gift Bag Topper

Welcome back! I'm excited to share a photot tutorial for this sweet gift bag topper with you today. It is also the featured project on the Momenta blog today. If you haven't checked out the new blog yet, you should head over! (After you're done here, of course!)
1. Trim embossed cardstock to fit the width of the gift bag. (My gift bag measured 7.75" wide, so I trimmed my cardstock to 7.75" x 12". Make two score lines across width of cardstock to fold over the top of the gift bag.


2. Trace edge of die-cut cardstock along short sides of embossed cardstock. (You can use any die cut paper because you are just using it as a template. You can also leave the edge of the bag straight if you prefer or are short on time.)

3. Trim along traced lines.

4. Mark handle placement on back side of cardstock.

5. Use paper trimmer to cut "slices" from the cardstock to slide over the handles. My "slices" were about 1/4" wide.

6. This is what it should look like. Notice that I cut the "slices" from the top of the gift bag topper, not the sides. This will allow the topper to sit flat on top of the gift bag.

6. Sand cardstock. (This is a great way to show the contrasting core of your cardstock. Pre-embossed cardstock, such as Momenta's Hidden Hues, works great for this project!)

7. Fit topper over gift bag handles and embellish as desired. I used cardstock scraps and my Create a Critter cartridge (Cricut) to create a little ocean scene. This is such a fun project, and such a great idea for your scrap budget! Not only can you embellish using scraps and leftovers from other projects, but also the plain gift bags are 2/$1.00 at Dollar Tree! You can get my favorite, kraft, or fun colors like the teal one used in this project.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Lily Pad Inspiration Challenge

The Lily Pad DT had a fun assignment this week: we got to hunt through all of the submissions from the past month and create a card inspired by one of them! This assignment is perfect for me because I am always inspired by others' cards, and I always tell myself that I will "lift" their design someday. Well, life gets busy and I forget. Having this as an assignment was the perfect reason to make one of these cards!

I loved THIS card by Therese, who entered this for the Lily Pad Color Throwdown. I had that same scooter stamp in my stash, and I had never inked it up. Time to remedy that! Here is what I came up with:

I cut this fun shaped card using my Cricut Wild Card cartridge. It's hard to see the detail, but the pink cardstock is dry embossed with the same quirky heart that is on the scooter-love that! I also hope that you will join us for this fun challenge-you could win a gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp! Check out the challenge details and the rest of the Dream Team's cards HERE.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog Hop

Welcome to your next stop on the Master Forgers' Blog Hop for the month of April! If you didn't start at the beginning, you will want to head over to the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog so you start from the very beginning. You won't want to miss any of the beautiful projects created by (and inspired by) our amazing DT!

Our challenge this month was to surf the DT's personal blogs for inspiration. It was so hard to choose just one designer to scraplift! Finally, I chose a layout that I felt worked really well with my photo and the supplies remaining in my kit. I just loved this layout by Lisa:

Here is my layout:

I also have a fun giveaway for one lucky commenter! Master Forger Kim and I have made mini add-on kits inspired by this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge-and we're giving them away! All you need to do is leave a comment here on my blog and you will automatically be entered. I will announce the random winner on Sunday night. Here's the mini kit up for grabs:

Your next stop on our fabulous blog hop is Kim's amazing blog, Love-Joy-Scrap. Thank you so much for visiting with me today!

Counterfeit Kit Mini Challenge #3: Inspired by Food

Our mini challenge was to create a project inspired by our favorite foods. My favorite food is ice cream-hands down! I knew that I wanted to scrap these photos from our trip to the Ben & Jerry's factory last fall. As I looked through my kit, I noticed my cloud papers and chipboard shapes, the scalloped borders, and the blues and greens. My mind instantly thought of the B&J's containers. I thought it would be fun to recreate the background from the packaging. Although it's not exact, it's definitely inspired by the packaging. I am so proud of myself for getting these photos scrapped and on a 2-page spread, to boot! :)
We would love to see your take on this challenge! You can see the original post HERE on the Counterfeit Kit blog.

My Counterfeit Babbling Brook Kit

Here is aphoto of my kit:



Lots of handmade goodies there! I used punches and my sewing machine for one (see the next post for a tutorial), a text stamp for another, and lots of Cricut fonts for the last! Here is the full image of my font paper:


I also used my Cricut to make the small scalloped circle. I made it much smaller than the inspiration kit's because I have the smaller Cricut. That's OK with me, though, because I already have a layout in mind for this one!
I used an EK Success border punch to make my aqua flower border. Doesn't it look just like the trim in the inspiration kit? I also cut up one of my die-cut ledger papers for my faux envelopes. Can't wait to try these on a project!
Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop

Welcome to your next stop on February's Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Melissa's fabulous blog. If not, make sure that you start the hop right at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog so you don't miss any of the amazing projects!


This month's inspiration kit was from Scraps of Darkness. You can see photos of the inspiration kit HERE, and you can also check out my blog post HERE that shows the contents of (and the logic behind) my counterfeit kit. Here are a couple of projects that I've made with my kit.

Here is the sketch from Scraps of Darkness:

And here is my layout:



It's hard to see in the photo, but I finally used my Perfect Pearls mists! I sprayed the background and the brown chipboard flourish with Interference Red mist. So pretty when the light hits it!

I also made a couple of cards (of course!) The first uses supplies from my kit plus a cute little button card stamp from Unity Stamp Co. I'm embarrassed to say that I've had this stamp for a few months and didn't know what it was, lol. I just saw a new set from PTI that had a similar stamp and realized what it was! Now it is one of my favorites. :)

The next card was actually the first project that I made using my kit, back at the beginning of the month. The card base is made from the postage stamp die cuts (from the Create a Critter Cricut cartridge). The flower and sentiment stamps are from Ippity. If you would like these stamp sets, I happen to know a *fabulous* Ippity chick. ;) Plus, I think I finally achieved the vintage look with these two cards!
I am so very glad that you had a chance to hop along with us today. I'd love it if you left me a comment, too! Your next stop on the hop is the amazingly talented Marianne!

My Counterfeit Kit for February

I have to admit that this month's Counterfeit Kit Challenge was a huge challenge for me. While I loved the color swatches that Bethany and Meridy posted before the kit reveal, I was very intimidated when I saw the actual inspiration kit. It was totally not my style-not the colors, the patterns, embellies, anything. But I really wanted to play along, so I thought a lot about how I could use the inspiration kit.

I decided to make a list of kit contents, but in a very general way. First, I started with the papers. Rather than try to match the papers in the inspiration kit exactly (which would have been impossible from my stash), I wrote down what the inspiration kit contained: a distressed solid, a flourish/heart pattern, a polka dot, a basic geometric pattern, and three all-over patterns. Now this was a list I could work with! I started with the flourish/heart pattern. I looked through my patterned paper and found this beautiful heart flourish paper from the Bittersweet collection from Basic Grey. This is the paper that I built my entire kit around. I had the matching stripe, so that took care of my basic geometric. I was then able to pull other papers that coordinated. I added a distressed pink solid from Basic Grey (a different line, but still matched), a kraft/cream polka dot, and three all-over patterns: the heart woodgrain (Imaginisce), cream flower (My Mind's Eye) and little fruits (an old Basic Grey line-Recess.) I added one other patterned paper-the numbers-which remind me of the bingo card in the inspiration kit. I didn't end up using the bingo cards from my January kit, so I substituted patterned paper. I think that I am more likely to use this paper than the actual bingo cards.

For embellishments, I found some great printable postcards, tags, and vintage images on Flickr. I also fell in love with the printable doily tags, which I believe were linked on Write. Click. Scrapbook. I also threw in some journaling boxes which were leftover from an SEI album kit.

I found that I didn't include enough letter stickers in my January kit, so I really loaded this kit up with some fun stickers and rub-ons. More mini alphas from Making Memories, a sheet of Basic Grey stickers that have sat untouched in my stash for 3 years (since my very first CKC class!), two different sets of rub-ons from Imaginisce and Cosmo Cricket (thank you, Eryn Hagen!), some pearl flourishes and Momenta Bubbles & Bling. The Bubbles & Bling will work great in place of the mirrored embellies in the inspiration kit, which really weren't my style.

For 3D embellies, I included some chipboard pieces from Colorbok (flourishes) and Fancy Pants, large postage stamp die-cuts which I plan to use for a card base, tiny pearl ribbon slides, and assorted trims. I am anxious to make some of the faux Prima flowers, but I will do that as I make my projects. I also plan on using buttons on my projects, but I found it was just as easy to add the buttons to my kit as I go along. My buttons are all sorted by colors in individual jars, so I can easily just pick what I want. :)

Finally, I added two sets of seriously neglected clear stamps. The smaller set is The Language of Love by Technique Tuesday. The flourishes are from Gel-a-Tins. These stamp sets will work really well with my papers, and I hope that by including them in my kit I will remember to use them!

Thanks for stopping by today. I know this was a long post. Hopefully I have inspired you to think outside of the box a little bit when it comes to finding inspiration in other kits or projects. Can't wait to start creating with my Counterfeit Kit!

Elegant Butterfly Card

Some of you have already seen this card if you came to my Cricut Card class. This was a fun class where we learned how to make the most of our Cricut cartridges by using die cuts to make shaped cards. Usually I go for cutesy-style cards, but this was one of my favorites from that class.

The card base is a label shape folded in half. I then cut an additional label from smooth white cardstock, cut in half (so that it would cover just the card front) and embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder. I simply adhered it to the front of my card, giving an elegant embossed texture on the outside, but a nice smooth surface on the inside to write a personal note.

Thanks for looking!

Just cardstock...

and a little bit of ribbon on this card, but I think it's one of my favorites. I started with 2 Cricut shapes (the scalloped square from the Celebrations cartridge) and adhered the tops together to form a card. The back shape is scored after the first scallop so that the front of the card stays flat. Then I layered on square die cuts (also from the Celebrations cartridge), one of which was embossed and sanded. The sanding revealed the ivory core (this was Core'dinations cardstock.) The Queen Anne's Lace is from the Home Accents cartridge, and the butterflies were punched using a Martha Stewart punch. I folded one of the butterflies in half to give it a bit of dimension. A bit of ribbon and voila!

Cardstock is one of my favorite papercrafting supplies because it is so cheap and it comes in just about any color imaginable. So if you're looking for a budget-friendly handmade card, look to your cardstock. Even some scraps can turn into an elegant card with a few little details. This is a pretty generic card, too, so it could be personalized with just about any sentiment. I think it would actually be perfect for a sympathy card or a "thinking of you" card.

Thanks for looking!

A Sneak Peek...

at Tuesday night's paper-piecing class at A Time to Remember. Our theme is "Summer in Maine" and we have a variety of projects planned. This sneak peek is an oversized die-cut tag in the popular label holder shape. The front of the tag is embossed with Swiss Dots and features three lupine flowers, a familiar sight here in Maine. This tag can be used on a scrapbook page or as a wallhanging (simply back it with chipboard for extra stability) or you can do what I did and turn it into a die-cut card. I'll be sharing this technique in class, too.
Our other two projects are 12 X 12 scrapbook pages. One is of the Maine coast, featuring a lighthouse, whale, and possibly the cutest lobster I've ever seen (if I do say so myself!) Our second layout has an amusement park theme, making it perfect for your pages about Funtown or one of the local fairs.
We still have four spots available for this class, so if you're interested, please call A Time to Remember at 474-2380 or email us at atimetoremember@rocketmail.com to reserve your space. See you tomorrow night!